Some may call it nothing, but Italian artist Salvatore Garau describes it as an "immaterial sculpture". And it sold at auction for €15,000 ($18,300).
Titled Io Sono, or "I am", the artwork can be described as invisible or simply as nothing. It does not exist in any material form. Though Garau, 67, did not describe it as such and explained the concept behind the piece to publication Diario AS and was quoted on ArtNet.
“The vacuum is nothing more than a space full of energy, and even if we empty it and there is nothing left, according to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, that nothing has a weight,” he said. “Therefore, it has energy that is condensed and transformed into particles, that is, into us.”
The work was auctioned last month at the Italian auction house Art-Rite, surpassing its estimate of €6,000 to €9,000.
The buyer received a certificate of authenticity signed and stamped by Garau, along with instructions on how to display the work, specifically, to exhibit in a space measuring five-by-five-feet, unobstructed by other objects.
While the artwork and its price may raise some eyebrows or induce a chuckle, the artist insists on his ideas, explaining that exhibiting the sculpture in a space concentrates a “density of thoughts at a precise point”.
He has explored similar concepts of immateriality and nothingness in previous works, namely Buddha in Contemplation, marked by a white square taped onto a cobbled walkway in Milan.
In the artist’s video about the work, the text explains that the sculpture is installed “above” the square. A statement scrolls across the screen: “You don’t see it, but it exists; it is made of air and spirit. It is a work that asks you to activate the power of imagination, a power that anyone has, even those who don’t think they have it.”
It’s not new for artists to test the boundaries of material – or lack of it – and the willingness of buyers to shell out money for art.
More high-profile sales in recent memory include Beeple's Everydays – The First 5000 Days, an NFT artwork that sold for $69 million in March, and the infamous banana taped to a wall, an artwork titled Comedian, by Maurizio Cattelan that sold for $120,000 in Art Basel Miami in 2019.
Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
